Anonymize

To remove or obscure identifying information from data, making it impossible or very difficult to link the data to a specific individual. This process involves a variety of techniques, from removing names and addresses to modifying more complex data like dates, locations, and sensitive attributes. The goal of anonymization is to protect privacy and confidentiality while still allowing for the use of the data for research, analysis, or other purposes. The level of anonymization applied depends on the sensitivity of the data and the potential risks of re-identification.

Anonymize meaning with examples

• The research team anonymized the patient data by removing all personally identifiable information, such as names, social security numbers, and medical record numbers, before sharing it with collaborating institutions. This ensured patient privacy was upheld, and that no-one could be tracked back to the research.
• To comply with data privacy regulations, the company decided to anonymize customer purchase data before conducting market analysis, allowing them to study consumer behaviour without compromising customer identities or breaching GDPR regulations.
• Before publishing the survey results, the researchers took steps to anonymize the responses. They removed any comments that contained direct references to individuals and grouped the answers to broader categories to minimize the risk of revealing any respondent's identity.
• The government agency was required to anonymize the census data before making it available to the public for open data projects. This included aggregating geographical data and replacing specific names with codes, mitigating any potential threats to the privacy of respondents.
• The software developers had to anonymize the log files generated by the application before submitting them to the third-party security auditing company. This helped to protect the privacy of their users and comply with data protection best practices.